Thibaut Courtois follows Eden Hazard's lead and puts Chelsea future in doubt
Thibaut Courtois has joined his team-mate Eden Hazard in casting doubt over his Chelsea future by claiming he has proved at this World Cup that he is worth more than the £200,000-a-week contract the Blues offered.Like Hazard, Courtois enjoyed a superb World Cup for Belgium, who finished third by beating England, and is waiting to find out whether or not Real Madrid now bid for him.
But unlike Hazard, who Chelsea are desperate to keep, the Blues are prepared to listen to offers for Courtois if they can find an agreement on making Roma’s Alisson Becker his replacement.Courtois is now in the final 12 months of his Chelsea deal and the last offer the club made to him was a £200,000-a-week contract in December, which they believed at the time he would sign.But Courtois stalled over committing himself and has now risked upsetting Chelsea further by suggesting the club would need to increase that offer to stand any chance of convincing him to sign a new contract.
That could mean Chelsea look to cut their losses on Courtois and push forwards with a move for Alisson, who is highly rated by new head coach Maurizio Sarri.
Asked about his Chelsea future, Courtois said: “I will go back and I will see what they want and how they say it. Obviously, with this World Cup, I think what was on the table is different than what I can have.
“In this World Cup, I have ignored all the speculation, all the rumours. But now, in the next few days, I will have a chat with my agent and see what Chelsea told him, and then we will talk. But I feel happy at Chelsea, it’s not that I necessarily want to leave.”Courtois also raised the prospect of seeing out the final year of his current deal, which would mean he would be a free agent next summer, by saying: “People always complain that players don't comply with their contracts, but maybe they do.
“I don't think they will keep someone with my qualities on the bench, even if I don't sign (a new contract). But maybe (staying) is possible, because I like it in London.”
Eden Hazard issued a come and get me plea to Real by admitting the time might be right for him to leave Chelsea and, on his team-mate’s future, Courtois added:
“Wherever I go Eden must come along. We will not let each other go.”
Chelsea sacked Antonio Conte and replaced him with Sarri while Courtois was at the World Cup, but the 26-year-old has hinted that he was tipped off over what would happen ahead of the tournament.
He has also warned Chelsea fans that Sarri could struggle to get his squad ready in time for the start of the Premier League season on August 11.
Courtois said: “The decision (to sack Conte) was made a few days ago, but I think as a group we expected that to happen earlier because we heard what the board said to us already after the season and then it took until now.
“I don’t think it’s easy for a new manager to come in and shape us in a few weeks. I think fans need to understand we will need some time to adapt to the new manager and a different style.”
Courtois, who is team-mates with Dries Mertens - who played for Sarri at Napoli - in the Belgian national team, added: “I know Dries and he told me really good things about Sarri, so I’m looking forward to getting back and winning some prizes.”
Despite the fact he was already rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, Courtois believes he proved his critics wrong in Russia and elevated himself to one of the best in the world - along with England’s Jordan Pickford.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/07/15/thibaut-courtois-follows-eden-hazards-lead-puts-chelsea-future/
